I decided to plan my unit out in a two and a half week period. The first lesson, the hook is designed to get the students interested in the colonial era. If the students were going to completing a task on the founding fathers, it was important that they understanding the setting. It was also important because the students would be creating a play, poem or soliloquy and would need to understand the setting and atmosphere of the time. I chose the dance lesson next because it helps to cement the atmosphere of the colonial era by introducing what colonists would do for social interactions. The next two lessons focus on researching the founding fathers and discovering who they were. This is a two day process because students will be using this information to create their final task. The next lesson, about the perception of George Washington also helps with the final task. Students are able to see how there can many different views on one person depending on where and when they lived. Lesson Six introduces the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. This is important because it is a focus in the final task for the students. The students are playing a founding father at the Constitutional Convention. This lesson helps the students to understand the purpose of the Convention and what is helped create and how it has impacted the United States. Lesson Seven is a math lesson which teaches the students that all the founding fathers were in different places when the decision was made to create a new governing document. In this lesson, they find how who traveled the farthest and who traveled a half (1/2) as far and who traveled (1/4) farther than who using google earth and fractions. The eighth lesson, a science lesson, brings the students back to the daily life of a colonist. Lesson Nine is readers theater of the Boston Massacre. This gets the students ready for their performance tasks by having them participate in the reading of a play. I placed this lesson at the end of the unit, so that students would have practice close to the final task. The lesson is also a great writing exercise to prepare them for writing their play, poem or soliloquy. For the Lesson Ten I chose to do a music lesson on the meaning of Yankee Doodle Dandy. I chose to have this lesson last because it is a short, fun lesson and Friday is an early dismissal. The next week, I have set aside two days for dress rehearsal and work time for the final task.
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